“Dunno. Ask him.”
“I shall,” Siddons answered as he moved over toward the point where he estimated McGee’s taxiing plane would come to a stop.
72“Big stiff!” Yancey said under his breath. “He’ll ask him, all right, and right out in meetin’. He never believes anything he hears until he has asked a thousand questions about it. What do you see in that fellow to like, Hamp?”
“He’s all right, Tex. He was pretty decent to me while I was acting as Supply during that time Cowan grounded me. Came around to help me with the paper work and put in a good word for me.”
“Yeah, he’s always chummy with Supply and Operations–but only because he thinks he can get some favors that way. I despise him.”
“Oh, come now! You mustn’t feel that way. We are all in the same boat, and we’d as well be chummy.”
“Huh! If you ever get in the same boat with that fellow he will do the steerin’ while you do the rowin’. He gives me a pain!”
2
Two weeks later orders came down concentrating several pursuit, observation and bombing groups in the neighborhoods of Commercy and Nancy. The members of the squadrons to which McGee and Larkin had been detailed were feverish with excitement. Operations and armament officers were busy with the duties incident to making all planes ready for 73combat. This could mean but one thing–Action!
Three nights after the move McGee and Larkin sat at a late dinner in one of the little cafés on the main street of the small French town. They were discussing the progress of their work and each was heatedly contending that his own group was superior in every way.